PUERTO RICO—1992  467in 1972. 
In 1992, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) unveiled a 5year,
$1.4 billion capital expenditure program to upgrade the island's five 
major powerplants, to better its 
distribution system, and to develop 
critical reserve capacity needed to prevent 
power outages that result from 
breakdowns and scheduled maintenance. PREPA also plans to build an $80 million,
200-megawatt oil-burning 
powerplant in Arecibo by 1994. 
Several companies dependent upon the 
minerals industry were involved in new operations or plant expansions. Included

were Owens Illinois, San Juan Cement Co. , Puerto Rican Cement Co. , Du Pont
Electronics Materials Inc. , Coral Can 
Co. , Bayamon Steel Processors, Servimetal Inc. , Crossland Boiler Sales
& 
Service Inc., Empasas Tito Castro, and Marmoles Vassco Inc. Details are included
in the Review by Nonfuel 
Mineral Commodities section. 
Arochem Corp. filed for chapter 7 
bankruptcy liquidation in August. The company closed its 80,000-barrel-per-day
refinery at Peñuelas in December 1991 after Federal Bureau of
Investigation
and Internal Revenue Service officials began investigating allegations that
top company executives illegally channeled large amounts of money from the
firm. In December 1992, the company's chief executive officer was convicted
of 21 counts of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
At yearend, Arochem's principal creditors were attempting to recoup their
losses by finding a buyer for the closed refinery. 
Prior to the Federal investigations, Arochem had announced plans to build,
in a joint venture with Texaco Corp. and General Electric Corp. , a multimillion
dollar electrical power and steam generating (cogeneration) plant at the
Pefluelas site. 
 
Employment 
 
Preliminary data reported3 by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
showed an average of 1,676 people directly employed by Puerto 
Rico's mining industry in 1991. This 
~ represents a 1 .9 % decrease from the 
~ 1,708 reported for 1991. Of the total 
~S number, 1,071 were employed in surface 
~ mines and 605 were employed in mills and preparation facilities. One fatality,
at a mill and preparation facility, occurred 
in Puerto Rico's mining industry in 1992. 
 
Environmental Issues 
 
 Included in legislation passed in 1992 that indirectly affects the minerals

industry was law 70, the Recycling law. 
This act establishes the mechanism and 
guidelines that will enable both the public 
and the private sectors to reach the goal of recycling one-third of the total
volume of solid waste generated on the island. Exports of recyclable materials
increased to 130,300 metric tons or 143,640 short tons, more than double
the 56,900 metric tons (62,737 short tons) exported in 1987. Major commodities
exported were aluminum, iron and steel, paper and cardboard, and plastic.

 Construction of a recycling facility to 
recover metal from discarded automobile carcasses was scheduled for September
in 
the Guaynabo/Carolina area. The facility, designed with a capacity to shred

120,000 automobile bodies annually, is a 
joint venture between a Puerto Rican 
firm, Westech Corp., and two Florida 
firms, Montenay Power Corp. and NAMCO International Corp. Shredded metal
will be separated into ferrous and nonferrous material, 95 % ofwhich would
be exported to steel mills and other clients on the mainland. Future plans
call for the establishment of a scrap tire processing, recovery, and pulverizing
plant at the site. 
 Reconstruction of P.R. Highway 191 through the El Yunque rain forest, which
is administered by the U.S. Forest Service, continued to be delayed. A $3.5
million contract awarded to Redondo Construction Co. by the Federal Highway
Administration in 1991 was challenged by environmentalists who filed a lawsuit
that alleged the project violated the U.S. National Environmental Policy
Act, which requires that an environmental impact statement (EIS) be ified
for 
projects that have the potential to 
significantly affect the environment. In April 1992, a U.S. District Court
Judge ruled that the EIS filed 10 years ago was no longer valid and ordered
that a new EIS be prepared. Highway 191 was closed in October 1970 when it
was 
blocked by landslides triggered by a 
tropical storm. 
 Repairs to the Carraizo Dam, which 
overflowed during Hurricane Hugo, began in late summer. The overflow damaged
the electric motors powering the pumps that provide water to much of Puerto
Rico. As a result, 70% of the island was left without water service. The
repairs, which will take 2 years to complete, include the installation of
a new tainter gate system and renovation of the bascule gates. The gates
control the volume of water that is discharged from ~ the dam and, ifworking
properly, should have prevented the overflowing during Hurricane Hugo. 
 Plans by North Carolina-based Cogentrix to build a $540 million coalburning
energy plant in Mayaguez remained on hold at yearend pending the issuance
of more than 30 permits and approvals needed from both Commonwealth and Federal
governments. Cogentrix' plans, first announced in 1989, were to have the
first 300megawatt unit operational by March 1993. Opposition by local residents,
environmental groups, and the municipal and newly elected Commonwealth governments
have cast doubt upon the project being built. 
 
Exploration Activities 
 
 In June, a 3-day meeting was conducted jointly by the Puerto Rico Department
of Natural Resources, the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, and the
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to outline the results of a multiyear study
of the island's known and undiscovered mineral resources. Meeting officials
noted that the scientific data obtained from the study should aid the public
and private sectors in long-range land use and economic planning in Puerto
Rico and provide a better understanding of the